We Meet Again
by Takebuo Ishimatsu
Summary: Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast. YJ cartoon crossover into a world similar to JL cartoon.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **We Meet Again  
**Author: **Takebuo Ishimatsu  
**Pairing(s): **None?  
**Summary: **Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast.**  
**  
**IMPORTAT AN: **Because I don't really know that much about the comics (yet!), I decided it was better to use the Justice League from the cartoons. HOWEVER, the Flash in this one is still BARRY! And it's a universe in which there are no sidekicks! So, it's not a complete crossover, just kinda.

**Second AN: **This was started about two weeks ago, when I first saw the pilot. Thus, there will be no Artemis in it, since I know nothing about her!

**Disclaimer: **Ido not own Young Justice. 

"Hey Bats, the big guy wants to know when it'll be done," Flash said as he zipped over to the Dark Knight.

"Now," Batman responded, pulling down a lever. Flash let out an impressed whistle as the primary power came back on and the Watchtower was no longer lit up solely by dim emergency lights.

"Nice to have full power again. Good thing we had a back-up to our back-up, huh?"

"Very."

"Well, I'm outta he-"

Flash stopped in his tracks as a glowing light appeared in the middle of the room, starting as a small ball and growing larger by the second. Flash quickly backed up until he was standing beside the other man.

"I'm assuming this isn't part of the new improvements?"

"Hardly," Batman answered with narrowed eyes. Not glancing away, he pulled a batarang out of his belt, noting that the other superhero shifted into a fighting stance along with him.

Activating the comlink in his ear, Batman said, "We've got a situation in the generator room."

"What kind of a situation?" Superman's voice came instantly in return, and Batman knew he'd started towards their direction as soon as "situation" had left his mouth.

"The Boom Tubey kind," Flash responded. Turning towards Batman, he added, "Darkseid?"

"Perhaps."

"Great. Just what I was hoping for. Nothing starts off the perfect day like an intergalactic baddy in your secret base," Flash muttered with no little sarcasm.

The light grew brighter and seemed to expand before suddenly shrinking out of existence completely. In its place were five teenagers in costumes.

The largest of the group, a brunette boy wearing the emblem of Superman, instantly stepped in front of the smallest of the lot. Batman filed away the annoyed look the other brunette gave him as reference later towards their relationship.

"Hey now, I don't know how you kids got up here, but this is a restricted area. Not that I don't appreciate the hello or anything." Flash eyed the redhead's Flash symbol with a frown.

Just what they needed, obsessive fans who clearly had way too much time and money on their hands. Even worse than Darkseid, in his book.

"So, you don't recognize us?" the Flash-boy asked.

"Uh...no?" Flash shrugged, only to gasp as a batarang landed just where he'd been a second ago.

"Hey, kid-"

"Don't bother, they clearly aren't interested in negotiating," Batman cut him off, seeing their hard expressions.

"If by 'negotiating' you mean 'lure us to our deaths' like those last dudes, then no, not really," Flash-boy snarked back.

Batman narrowed his eyes at the information but didn't respond otherwise. His questions would have to wait until they were more sedated. Even if they had been attacked before, it only made them more dangerous. Nothing was worse than a scared animal backed into a corner.

"Fun's over, kids. Come quietly and-"

"Holy crap!" Flash yelped as the newly-arrived Superman was thrown into one of the nearby walls by the kid wearing the "S". So, definitely not normal fans.

He didn't have much time to contemplate just who they actually were, or what they wanted, as he was then dodging left and right as the smallest one tried to hit him with various objects. Not normally a hard task, even given the kid's impressive moves. That is, until the Flash-boy joined in and Barry had the unusual experience of actually having to block attacks with his arms and legs rather than his normal method of simply not being there anymore.

That left Batman with the green girl and dark-skinned boy. Correction: the green girl who could disappear and the dark-skinned boy who had the power to electrocute him with a single touch. He was unknowingly beginning to agree with Barry that perhaps Darkseid wouldn't have been worse. At least then he could have hit him with all his power and not worried about breaking his skinny little neck.

"Need a hand?" J'onn asked, disappearing just as soon as he'd appeared.

Batman continued on with his fight, careful to keep track of how his teammates were doing. Superman seemed to be over-powering the kid with brute strength and combat experience. Flash was in a fist fight with the yellow-clad youth, who was better at dodging due to his size, though not as skilled in regards to attacking. He frowned as he realized he'd momentarily lost track of the youngest one.

As he darted behind his opponent, he shifted his gaze to the other side of the room and caught a glimpse of the boy hiding in the shadows in the corner, a hand pressed against the middle of his chest. He was shaking and appeared to be having trouble breathing. His teammates didn't even seem to notice. Hmph, still just amateurs.

He ducked underneath the young man's fist, one with webbed fingers he noted, to deliver a punch hard enough to put him into the wall behind. One down.

Two, as J'onn reappeared with the green girl carefully tucked under one arm. The Martian sat her down next to her fallen comrade and they nodded to each other. Time to go after the speedy little punk.

He was too quick for either of them to catch and if he turned off the gravity, that'd make Flash useless as well. That left distraction.

"Aren't you going to go help your friend? He seems to be having some trouble breathing," he said blandly from a few feet away, nodding towards the corner.

The redhead allowed his eyes to drift over towards the shadows for a split-second too long and he was soon flying through the air, only to land next to his buddies.

"Well, that takes care of that. Where's Supes?"

"Here," Superman said, walking through a hole in the wall the "S" kid had made during their fight, "Other one's just outside."

"Looks like that leaves you alone, kiddo," Flash said as they all turned as one towards the brunette.

Batman's gut suddenly warned him as the boy's expression shifted to one of desperation.

Holding up his arm, a holographic diagram of the Watchtower appeared.

"Yeah, I figured we wouldn't be able to pull through this a third time, so I've already set this baby to blow. In about five minutes, your Watchtower will be nothing more than a firey hunk of metal set on a crash course with the eastern coast of the U.S. That is, unless you let us leave in peace."

"Leave in peace? You guys are the ones that appeared out of nowhere and started attacking us!"

"It doesn't matter, Flash. He's bluffing. We haven't had a villain yet who's been able to crack our system," Superman said.

"Nobody's been able to crack the Batcomputer either, huh? Guess there's a first time for everything, right B.W.?"

Batman's eyes widened for a moment before a scowl set in.

"He's not bluffing," turning towards Superman, "The Watchtower has a replica of the software I made for the cave, something a person would be unlikely to know unless they'd hacked both. And he knows my name."

"B.W.," Superman whispered.

"Tick tock," the kid mocked.

Batman noticed how his breath seemed to catch on the "tock." He was still having trouble breathing, it seemed. And, though his shaking had stopped, his face was abnormally pale. Illness? Blood loss?

He glanced at the blue-clad hero out of the corner of his eye. Clark nodded subtly. He'd noticed it too, then.

"Fine, you're free to go," Superman said with a smirk, crossing his arms.

The four heroes eyed the young man as his gaze drifted over to the pile of knocked-out youths.

"Didn't quite think this through, huh kid?" Flash smirked.

The boy groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"God, Batman's gonna kill me," he whispered.

Superman frowned.

"Do you know a...different Batman?" he asked carefully, glancing at Bruce. The man in black gave no sign of recognizing the other.

The boy stiffened, which was answer enough for them all.

"I think I set the training program on too high," the Flash-boy groaned, holding his head as he woke up.

"KF, you're awake. That's good," the brunette murmured before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Both Flash and the yellow-clad boy were there in an instant, catching the teen as one. They glanced at each other warily before diverting their attention back to the other.

"Robin! Wake up man!" the smaller speedster yelled frantically, shaking his comrade. Frowning, he pressed his hand to the wet spot starting to form on the other's chest. He pulled his hand away bloodied, giving the red hero a horrified look.

"It wasn't me," Flash raised his hands in innocence.

"Move," Batman ordered, pushing them both out of the way and picking the boy up. Ignoring everyone else, he briskly started down the hall towards the medical bay.

"Superman, use the code I gave you," he called over his shoulder.

Superman frowned before his eyes lit up. Oh, right. Batman's emergency override for his emergency override. He supposed it wasn't always a pain to work with such a paranoid loner. He quickly made his way over to the Monitor room.

"Wait!" the Flash-boy yelped, darting after the Bat only to have his path blocked by the real Flash.

"You're not off the hook yet, kid," he shook his finger at the other.

"Get out of my way!" he tried darting to the left, only to be stopped again.

"Your little bud just threatened to blow up the Watchtower. We'll make sure he doesn't die, but don't think we're just letting you go."

That gave the other pause. "Robin threatened to...? He wouldn't..." his voice got lower with each utterance until Flash had to strain to hear the last part, "There's people down there."

"Perhaps you do not know your friend as well as you believe," J'onn said.

The boy snorted. "Nobody can really _know_ a Ba-" he stopped himself before he could give anything away, his momentary carefree manner shifting back to suspicious.

"But I trust him, and that's what counts," he finished determinedly.

"Why did you attack us?" J'onn tried a different route.

The other hesitated a moment before replying, "You don't know who we are."

"Is that some kind of offense on your world?" Flash snapped back, only half joking. They'd met some weird people in their travels through the multiverse.

Flash-boy looked towards the other speedster, clearly debating with himself on how much he should say.

"No. We..." he studied them for another moment before continuing, "We were in a battle and somehow got warped to another dimension. In the first one there were these criminals with the same powers as you guys; they called themselves the Crime Syndicate. Then we got warped away again and it _was_ you guys, but...not."

He gave them a haunted look, "They killed people that stood in their way. And once they realized we weren't going to follow their example, they didn't have much use for us."

"Did you originally have more people?" J'onn asked, both worried and angry. Those that would hurt children, even those with such dangerous powers, were of the lowest caliber.

"No, we got out fine, but that must have been where Robin got hurt. Stupid idiot didn't say anything," he muttered the last part in annoyance, running a worried hand through his hair.

"We know the feeling," Flash responded. Just last week Batman had tried to secretly give his life to save the planet, only to be rescued by Superman in the nick of time.

Superman walked back through the doors, pausing to take in the scene. Everyone still in their places. Good.

Turning towards the other two adults, he said, "It looks like it was a bluff. The kid hacked in all right, but the self-destruct wasn't armed."

"How do you know it was hacked, then?" Flash asked.

Superman gave the yellow-clad hero a Look as he responded, "All of the terminals were taken over by little bats all over the screens."

Flash-boy winced, though Superman could sense an underlying hint of amusement. "That sounds about right."

"Are we not fighting anymore?" "S" kid asked as he dragged himself through the hole in the wall.

"Do you want to?" Superman responded sternly.

"Not really. You hit hard," he answered, holding his head.

Superman merely nodded.

"Why don't you both tell us more about what's going on and we can see if we can help you," Superman said, the team's usual delegate.

The boys looked at each other uncertainly.

"I don't know if we can. We've had bad experiences in the previous universes," "S" boy responded.

"Man, I wish Robin was here. He'd know what to say," Flash-boy groaned. Seeing their interested looks, he added, "He's like our Batman."

"Way to give away our strategist, KF," Kaldur hissed, slowly standing and pulling a woozy Miss Martian up with him.

The boy had the decency to blush.

Superman shook his head slightly. They were powerful, but hardly fully trained.

"We already defeated you without knowing anything so..." Flash trailed off, hoping they'd fill in the rest on their own.

"Well, I guess we can tell you a few things. Uh, let's start with our names. I'm Kid Flash, that's Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad," he said, pointing to each as he spoke. "And, of course, the injured guy is Robin. Like I said, we've been jumping from dimension to dimension, and this is our third. In our world, we're your guys' partners."

"Like our trainees? Our sidekicks?" Flash asked, surprised.

"We prefer _partners_," Aqualad corrected.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Right, _partners_. I'm going to take a wild guess as to which superheroes you kids belong to. Me, Flash, J'onn, Aquaman, and..._Batman_?" Superman finished in a question, wondering if it was truly possible for the Dark Knight to have taken on an apprentice, regardless of the batarangs stuck in the wall, in the opposite direction that Batman had been throwing. Bruce really wasn't the kid type.

As if reading his thoughts, the redhead smiled, "Yeah, I know. Bats isn't really the first guy you'd think of for a mentor. But, believe it or not, Robin's actually the longest-running hero of us all."

Superman's eyebrows rose, though he chose not to respond.

The kid could have only have been thirteen, maybe fourteen. When exactly had he started? Considering he didn't appear to have powers, he'd have to have been physically training for a few years, at least. He felt the sudden urge to have a serious talk with Bruce.

"They should be in holding," Batman said as soon as he walked through the door. Well, speak of the devil.

Superman sighed, "Batman, we're speaking with them."

"You can speak to them just as well through the intercom in holding."

Superman crossed his arms, ready to take the hard stance against his friend, when the redhead spoke up.

"Don't argue on our account, we're used to Bats. We don't mind. But, could we see Robin first?"

"No."

"Yes."

The two leading superheroes glared at each other.

"Superman, a word."

"_Fine_ ."

The two left, leaving the four youngsters with the two experienced heroes. If there was ever a time to test their willingness for peace, it was then, as there was the possibility they could overpower them four-to-two.

Flash wondered if Batman had done it on purpose.

Still, the kids didn't try anything, but rather had the redhead fill them in on what happened to their smallest member. J'onn got the feeling the talkative guy was only just warming up. Seemed speed wasn't the only thing he had in common with his mentor.

"I thought I saw him get hurt earlier. But he brushed me off, claiming his armor had stopped it," Aqualad said, frowning.

"Yeah, that's a Bat for ya," Kid Flash shrugged.

Flash smiled at them, their conversation eerily reminiscent of one he'd had with Superman not two weeks ago in regards to the big Bat. Apparently, martial arts and gadgets weren't the only thing Batman had passed on to his protege.

Superman and Batman walked back in, and J'onn didn't need to use his mind-reading abilities to tell who'd won. Superman's blinding smile was answer enough.

"You can see your friend, though you'll have to stay on the other side of the glass. We have a machine running diagnostics, as well as doing any quick stitching that needs to be done. You'd just get in the way."

"You guys have machines that do that stuff?" Kid Flash said in awe.

"Don't you?" Batman asked, clearly suspicious.

Then again, when wasn't he?

"I don't need stitches," Superboy answered.

"Neither do I," Miss Martian added.

"We of the sea have different methods."

Kid Flash shrugged, "My uncle usually patches me up himself; we only use the fancy JL equipment if it's serious. I'm guessing the same goes for Robin."

"I mean getting patched up, by Batman, or whoever, not by my uncle," he added lamely.

Aqualad rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the clarification."

"Shall we go see your friend?" J'onn asked, sensing Batman's growing annoyance. He went around the other Martian, and gently pushed on her shoulder to get the group moving. She smiled up at him in response and started walking.

"I am most curious how you came to be. I was under the impression that I was the last of my kind."

"It's a long story. One I'm not certain I should tell. Will you wait for it?"

"Of course."

"The same applies for the last Kyrptonian," Batman said, giving the so-called "Superboy" a distrusting look.

Supeboy stopped suddenly and debated with himself as to what exactly he should say. Realizing that Batman would probably want to run them through tests anyway, including their blood (since that's what Bats did, even Robin), he figured it couldn't hurt to tell them.

"I am a clone of Superman, secretly made by Cadmus," he said with perfect blandness, as if it was a story he'd already told numerous times, before turning and following the others.

Superman gasped and Batman's eyes narrowed.

"Wow, talk about a whammy. Was so not expecting that," Flash tried to joke.

Not liking the sudden tension at the back of the group, he raced on ahead, calling over his shoulder, "Hey kid, let's see what you've got."

Kid Flash darted after him instantly and they were at their destination not two seconds later.

The boy pressed his face up against the glass, green eyes huge as they took in all the blood and tubes lit up by a blue diagnostic beam sweeping over the other. Bastard had been hiding a pretty big wound underneath his armor.

"Can he hear us?"

Flash nodded, "It's not soundproof."

Kid Flash banged on the window, before shouting, "You stupid idiot! I'm going to kick your butt once you're better!"

Surprisingly, the boy inside wasn't asleep as the older hero had thought (or, at least, he wasn't _anymore_) as he turned sleepy eyes towards them and gave the other boy a thumbs up. He didn't seem to mind the interruption to his relaxation. Judging by the playful kid sticking his tongue out beside him, perhaps it was normal.

Despite the trouble they'd caused, Flash couldn't help but smile at the young heroes.

"Are you two close?"

Kid Flash debated answering before nodding, "He's my best friend."

"Then I'm glad he's ok."

Kid Flash gave a smile in response and Flash could feel the trust and love radiating off the kid. Even with their previous circumstances, the need to look up to the other speedster was probably still ingrained in the teen.

Did the other Flash get to feel so...parental all the time? It was kind of nice. Perhaps he'd take on an apprentice once they'd gotten the current situation settled.

After what seemed like an eternity for the two speedsters, the rest of the group passed through the medical bay doors. Flash pointedly ignored Batman's glare.

"What's wrong with him?" Superboy asked, sounding somewhat horrified.

Superman understood the feeling. When he'd first started comprehending that others got injured, could actually _die_, he'd been horrified too. He wondered how long the clone had been alive to still garner such a reaction.

Then again, considering the kid was "a Bat," maybe he just never _saw_ Robin injured. Lord knew he'd caught Bruce hiding potentially fatal wounds too many times to be normal.

"Chest wound, previously bound but aggravated by the fight."

"But he'll be fine, right?" Kid Flash asked Batman worriedly.

He gave a terse nod.

Aqualad huffed, "Idiot."

"When did he have time to wrap it?" Miss Martian asked and as one the boys looked at each other, the thought not having crossed their minds.

Batman resisted the urge to roll his eyes in front of other people. Hopefully the other Batman's protege was the smart one of the group.

They all stood outside for a few minutes, the kids just enjoying the feeling of knowing he wasn't dying, despite the numerous tubes and machines hooked up to the other. Not to mention the little stitch-robot, which was just too weird, in Kid Flash's opinion.

Finally, the boy inside made a series of hand gestures and closed his eyes.

"'Me'...that's all I got," Kid Flash said with a sheepish smile.

"'Stop staring at me,'" Superboy responded.

The three young heroes gave him an odd look.

"They taught you sign language as well?" Aqualad asked.

The older men didn't need to guess who "they" were. Created by Cadmus? Trained by Cadmus.

Just another fact that Batman added to his list of things he didn't trust about the group.

Superboy nodded.

"Will you teach me?" Miss Martian asked.

"Uh, Robin's probably a better person to ask," he answered awkwardly.

Kid Flash snorted, "Clearly not. I still only know like four gestures, and I've been at this for over a month."

"Perhaps you are just not a very good student," Miss Martian answered innocently, not meaning to be rude.

"Thanks Miss M," Kid Flash groaned.

"_Go away_," Robin snapped, pulling his breathing mask off temporarily in order to speak clearly.

Kid Flash stuck his tongue out for the second time.

"Time's up," Batman agreed. "Superman?"

Superman sighed, before indicating with his hand that they should follow him.

Kid Flash gave his friend a forlorn look before pulling himself away. The others nodded at Robin before following the adults out of the room, leaving Batman alone with the boy.

Robin turned towards him, and both of their eyes narrowed at the exact same moment.

**AN: **Slow start, hopefully you guys like it anyway. (LOL, how a life-endangering fight can be "slow," I'll never know.) As always, if you see any mistakes, either in canon or the writing, let me know! I don't mind constructive criticism!

**Second AN to Flash Fans: **Sorry? X_X I really don't know anything about Barry, except his minor screen-time in YJ, so please forgive me if he's really OOC. I just sort of made him like Wally. -_-0


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **We Meet Again  
**Author: **Takebuo Ishimatsu  
**Pairing(s): **None?  
**Summary: **Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast.**  
**  
**IMPORTANT AN: **Ok, someone made me realize that perhaps I didn't explain this well enough in the first chapter – this is not a *real* crossover with the Justice League cartoon. Pretty much, YJ has gone into a dimension that's almost exactly like the JL 'toon, but there's Barry instead of Wally AND they have no side-kicks of any kind!

**Disclaimer: **Ido not own Young Justice.

"Talk," Batman ordered.

"I don't know if I should," he answered defiantly with his hands.

Robin went to cross his arms over his chest, before realizing the tiny Medbot was still patching him up, not to mention the IV hooked up to his right arm.

Right, not a good idea.

He vaguely noted in the back of his mind that he had to be on some _heavy_ anesthetics for him to not have even noticed that he was still being sewn into.

Unable to produce the determined "stance" he'd been going for in his current condition, he simply turned his head away instead. He knew it wouldn't do him any good; Bruce was hardly one to give up so easily. But it made him feel a little more in control, and he'd settle for that after the past couple of weeks he'd had.

Batman continued to stare at the other, waiting for the kid to break. Even turned away, it was easy to see that he was tense, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. A few minutes passed, and Bruce was vaguely impressed by the boy's holding out; though if he truly thought he'd win in their little game, he was a fool.

Robin finally sighed, knowing Batman was going to get the full story whether he wanted to give it or not. Even _if_ his silent stares weren't quite as bad as Alfred's.

"Shouldn't you already know all the facts via Kid Mouth?"

"I was informed of your claims."

"_See_?" Batman could "hear" the emphasis on the word through the boy's jerky sign-language, "What's the point in saying anything if you're not going to believe it?"

"Humor me."

"You just want to see if our stories match," Robin muttered verbally, not quite meaning for the other to hear, but guessing that he'd probably read his lips and knew what he'd said anyway.

Batman didn't reply and Robin sighed again before really _looking_ at his adoptive father. He didn't fully trust the man, not after what had happened to them already, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to give him a few facts in order to appease the Bat.

"_Fine_ . But, I reserve the right not to tell you everything," Robin said, ending his sign-speak with a pointed finger towards the other.

Batman raised his eyebrow at the kid's audacity. How did the other Batman deal with him on a regular basis?

"Well, I've been you're partner for..." his hands paused momentarily, "awhile. In fact, you..." he paused again and gave Batman a discerning look.

"You," he started again, "adopted me after my family was killed."

Robin looked away, uncertain if that was the best way to begin their relationship. Again. Probably not, he decided, but if he knew anything about Bruce, it was that he liked all of his mysteries solved. And the reason why he'd suddenly take on your average, non-meta kid as his sidekick was one of the biggest mysteries revolving around the Batman of his world. Even _if_ he'd been one of the few people around that could land the quadruple somersault at the tender age of eight.

Bruce nodded slowly, accepting the story as a plausible reason for the young Bat-boy, even if he didn't fully believe it. He'd always had a soft spot for orphans.

Though he was perhaps being too sentimental, he didn't press the other for more details regarding his loss. He could already guess as to how events had unfolded in the other universe. In order for him to have actually adopted someone, even someone with a tale so similar to his own, he'd probably met the young man while investigating the deaths. Or perhaps as Bruce Wayne, writing out a check for the other's trust fund, while they both pretended that having a solid financial future was enough to take the ache away.

"I thought I'd find you in here. Interrogating the poor kid without his lawyer present," Superman joked as he came in. Noting the somber expressions on _both_ Bats' faces, he wondered if he was truly rescuing anybody with his interruption.

Bruce wiped the look off his face quickly enough, and Clark almost wondered if it'd been there at all, before the other swept out of the room without saying a word. Superman gave the boy a questioning look.

Shrugging, Robin answered, "Old wounds," not bothering to sign it since he was certain the Man of Steel could hear him through his mask.

Superman nodded slowly, guessing as to what the conversation had been about. How in the world Bruce had managed to let himself be maneuvered into speaking about his parents was a question he doubted he'd ever have an answer for, seeing as he wasn't too keen on having Kryptonite sprinkled down his throat while he was sleeping.

"So, looks like you're all patched up," he said awkwardly, trying to shift the conversation to lighter topics.

Robin blinked and looked down, not having noticed that the little stitch-robot had finished its work some time ago.

"Does that mean I can go?" Robin asked and was sitting up and pulling off his medical hook-ups before Superman even had the chance to answer.

"I'm not certain you're quite up to roaming around just yet."

"Why not? The wound's all stitched up and," Robin breathed in and out deeply, "I don't actually need that stupid mask."

"You needed it half an hour ago, and that's enough to tell me you haven't had time to properly heal, even if you do feel better."

"Relax, big guy. I'm fit as a fiddle." Robin abruptly hopped off of the bed and did a few flips before landing on his hands. Shifting to hold himself up with just one palm, he stuck the other hand out and said, "See?"

"Maybe we should call Batman back in and get his opinion," Superman said, crossing his arms.

Robin winced, "No need to threaten. I'll chill."

He flipped himself back right side up, only to wobble and force the senior hero to catch him before he landed on his butt.

Superman gave him a Look and Robin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ok, maybe not as fit as a _fiddle_, but at least a tuba, right?"

Superman shook his head exasperatedly as he pushed the boy back into bed, wondering how in the world such a chipper child managed to work efficiently with the world's champion brooder.

"I'll admit, you've got some nice moves, kid. They'll probably be much nicer once you're not suffering from blood loss," Superman replied, pushing the IV back in as gently as he could. The boy didn't wince, so he supposed he'd done a fair-enough job.

Or Bruce had given him one of his special cocktails of drugs, in which case the boy wouldn't even blink if he knocked him through the wall. Those kinds of concoctions were _usually_ reserved for when the Dark Knight knew he shouldn't keep pushing himself, but was going to anyway, but Clark knew he couldn't stand the sight of children in pain. Even if the snarly Bat tried to pretend that he thought the intruders a Level 4 threat.

Level 6 for the "mellowed-out" little hacker.

Clark smirked. He was going to have to find a way to work in Bruce's soft side into some random conversation, if only to see his "You think you're amusing, but I think you're stupid" look. Which was actually kind of funny when there was no Kryptonite nearby.

"Totally," Robin agreed with a self-proud smile, drawing Clark's attention back to the young hero.

The boy's thoughts were unknowingly similar to the Man of Steel's as he silently wondered again what kind of drugs Bruce had put in him.

Though he wouldn't admit it to the Boy Scout if his life depended on it, he really _shouldn't_ have been able to play around so soon after such an injury.

Superman couldn't help but smile in return, even if he hadn't yet decided whether the other was subtlety making fun of him by speaking to the head of the Justice League so candidly. Perhaps he was still just immature. No matter his mentor, he could only be in his early teens, maybe even younger, and that sort of age came with a lack of maturity that was expected.

"I was wondering, how old are you?" Superman asked, just as he heard the tell-tale half-joking, half-arguing (all flirting) that indicated Hawkgirl and GL had come back from their mission.

"What's up?" Robin asked, seeing the other tilt his head in the famous pose that indicated Superman was hearing something you couldn't even if you tried.

"Sounds like the others are returning. I'm afraid I'll have to hear your answer later," Superman said, noting how Batman had already begun to explain the situation in the worst possible fashion to their teammates. The last thing he needed was to have everyone against the children before they'd even met them.

"Excuse me." He nodded good-bye to the boy, before taking off down the hall before Bruce could do too much damage. He smiled as he heard Robin shout at him that Batman had torn off the chest of his outfit and that he could use a new shirt if they had one laying around anywhere.

"So they're dangerous?" John asked.

"Extremely," Batman answered just as Superman said, "Hardly" when he landed next to the other.

Batman snorted, "Some amongst us like to ignore the obvious, even when it smacks them in the face. Literally."

"B, they're just kids. _Scared_ kids," he added, turning towards his fellow heroes, "Who thought we were the enemy."

"We still have no proof that their story is true," Batman pointed out.

"We have no proof that it's false," Superman, ever the optimist, countered.

"Maybe we should wait until we meet them before passing judgment," Hawkgirl said.

"Right, where are they?" John asked.

"One's in the medical bay, the others are with J'onn and Flash," Batman answered.

"Perhaps we should wait until Wonder Woman arrives before we introduce anyone. That way we can do it all at once and then maybe take a vote as to what we're going to do with them," Superman said.

Batman gave him a look, one that told Clark the other man thought the answer should be obvious, and the Man of Steel could just guess as to what his master plan was regarding the young heroes. Mr. Paranoid probably wanted to lock them up and throw away the key, regardless of how comfortable he'd made sure the youngest was.

"Sounds like a plan," John agreed.

"I don't know," Hawkgirl said with a mischievous smile, "Now I'm anxious to meet them. Especially if one of them is suppose to belong to _Batman_."

Bruce just scowled in reply.

"I'll contact Wonder Woman," Batman said, moving to break away from the happy, i.e., _annoying_, group.

"Actually, if I could have a word with you, Bruce?" Superman asked. Batman's eyes narrowed, though he nodded easily enough.

Tapping his ear, Clark spoke through their comlink, "Hey, Flash, could you do me a favor?"

"Whatcha need, big guy?" Barry asked, suddenly by the other's side.

Superman rolled his eyes, amused, "Could you contact Diana, please? Also, if you have any extra shirts in your quarters, Robin needs a new top and I don't think mine'll even come close to fitting."

"No prob, Supes. And, I've got just the design in mind for his new threads," Flash said with a wink before he was gone again.

Hawkgirl and GL looked at each other once the League's two leading heroes walked off by themselves.

"So, I guess it's just us again, huh?" Hawkgirl asked.

GL smiled, "Guess so. As much as I'd like to meet these kids, I'm starving. Wanna get a bite to eat?"

"Just a bite? After all that action on our mission, I could eat an elephant!"

John chuckled. "I doubt they're serving that right now, but let's see what we can scrounge up."

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

"Wonder Woman here, what's the emergency?"

Flash tapped the button to respond, "No real _emergency_, D. More like a need for a Founder vote, ASAP."

"Can I vote from here, then? I'm in the middle of something, but I have a moment for explanations."

Flash smirked, though he knew the other couldn't see it, "Actually, you're gonna want to see this, trust me. Get up here when you have a moment, will ya?"

Back on Paradise Island, Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow, "Now you've got me curious. I'll wrap this up as quickly as possible."

"Be seeing you soon! Flash out!"

Wonder Woman smiled fondly, not bothering to respond with the customary "Wonder Woman out" since she doubted Barry was still at the controls anyway. A nice man, but sometimes he seemed to forget that not everyone was as "up to speed" as he was.

Unbeknownst to Barry, he was proving Diana correct as he was in his Watchtower quarters not two seconds after he'd said his last words. Throwing things out of his drawers left and right, he exclaimed in triumph after he finally managed to find what he'd been looking for after a whole ten microseconds.

"Hey there, kiddo, I-"

Flash darted to the side as Robin jumped like he'd been electro-shocked and twisted around to beam whatever he'd been holding right at him. Causally moving to the side, Barry caught the object, raising an eyebrow as he realized it was one of the kid's gloves.

"Hate to break it to ya, kid, but even with such nice reflexes, this isn't going to do much damage," Flash gently shook the leather at the other as if scolding him, though his smile betrayed otherwise.

Robin flushed slightly before gliding over to take it from him.

Kid moved smoothly, perhaps even more so than Big Bat.

Pulling it on, Robin said, "Yeah, you just freaked me out. Usually only Batman can sneak up on me like that. Did you bring me my shirt?"

Robin nodded towards the black bundle in his hand, a smile that said "thanks" on his face.

"Sure did! Ta da!"

Flash unraveled it to reveal a bright yellow Flash symbol on the front.

"Picked it out myself," Flash said with a wink, handing it over.

"_Really_?" Robin asked as he put it on.

"Hey now, that's a piece of official Flash merchandise. And, considering I don't normally go around telling everyone I'm the Flash, I had to pay full price for that baby," Flash joked, shaking his finger at the other.

"Well, in that case, I'm honored," Robin answered playfully. Flash shook his head, once again amazed at how easy-going Batman's sidekick could be.

"Flash, I require your assistance," J'onn said over the comlink.

Frowning, Flash put his finger to his ear to answer, "Trouble?"

Robin tilted his head curiously, gauging the conversation's topic by the speedster's reactions.

J'onn's voice came through the link again, "Not necessarily. Kid Flash needs to use the restroom and Batman insists upon an escort."

Flash rolled his eyes, "I'll be there in a sec." Looking back towards the young man, he added, "Anything else I can get you before I take your bud on a potty break?"

Robin's lips twitched, "I told him to go _before_ we were randomly transported to your dimension."

Flash smiled at the joking, "See ya later kid."

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

"So, what's this 'emergency, but not really' that I was called up here for?" Diana asked with an amused look.

Everyone turned towards Barry, who shrugged at their raised eyebrows.

"What? I just wanted to be polite and let her know that if she was doing something important, this could wait a few hours."

"Thanks for informing _us, _Flash. If I'd have known that it could have taken hours for Diana to arrive, I might have gone and done something useful," John said, voice dripping with annoyance.

"Hey now, it only took like 45 minutes, half of which you were shoving your face full. Besides, you _know_ you wouldn't have done anything else. You're just upset that you had to wait so long to meet them," Flash said, waving his finger at the other.

Hawkgirl gave him an amused smile and GL seemed to relax.

"Damn right. I should have demanded to meet them right away," John only half-muttered.

"Them?" Diana asked, sitting at her usual spot around the table.

"Accidental intruders," J'onn answered.

"Justice League apprentices from another dimension. One of them Batman's," Hawkgirl cut in with a conspiratory smile. Diana's eyebrow lifted in interest.

"Tell me more," she said, leaning towards her fellow female.

"Before we get into how utterly amazing it is that Bruce hasn't managed to scare the kid away yet, we do have a few things to discuss. Namely what we're going to do with them," Superman said, ignoring Batman's glare.

"Bruce and I have been speaking about this privately, and I've come to the conclusion that we should keep them up here on the Watchtower."

"Wait a second, big guy. Let me get this straight: these kids randomly show up from another dimension, attack you, damage the Watchtower, and now we're going to let them live here as if they're part of the League?" John asked incredulously.

Superman pointedly ignored Batman's trademark "I told you you were an idiot" smirk.

"If you take a moment to think about it, you'll see it's the best solution. With their sort of powers, we don't want them running lose on earth, and we don't want to lock up juvenile heroes with our usual meta-powered criminals. We can't even be certain that we could properly contain them down there even if we were going to do that."

Batman's entire aura was screaming that _he_ knew how to "properly contain them," but Clark refused to use Kryptonite and hero fail-safes on kids that hadn't caused any trouble after the initial confusion.

"We can set the transporter so that they can't pass through it and block the escape pods, thus making this the easiest place to hold them."

"Unless Superboy and Miss Martian decide to leave their more humanoid companions and simply go out the wall," Batman countered, and his gruffly exasperated tone told the group that the two had already had this discussion three too many times. Clark should have said "arguing" rather than "speaking" earlier.

Superman tried not to let the "more humanoid" comment mean more than it did. If Bruce had wanted to hurt him by mocking him and calling him an alien, he wouldn't have bothered with subtleties.

"I feel that they are genuinely worried about their comrade," J'onn supplied. Superman nodded a thanks for his support.

"Yeah, but they could make some sort of plan and decide to temporarily leave them," John retorted.

Batman nodded, "There is also the issue of Robin threatening to bring the Watchtower down."

There was a gasp from their Amazonian member.

"And he has the ability to actually do so?" Diana asked, though she knew Batman wouldn't have brought it up if he didn't believe the boy could.

"Well, yeah, but he _didn't_. He could have done it any time but instead chose to give us a new screen saver. That's got to count for something, right?" Flash said.

"When he hacked in, he could have found the ultimate override but been unable to hack that. So he pretended to be merciful instead."

Superman snorted, "B, you're getting to the point of _extreme_ paranoia, even for you."

Nobody else commented, knowing only Superman ever brought up Batman's character faults and managed to walk away with most of his pride still intact. The two previous times anyone else had tried, Diana had gotten so mad she'd had to leave before she smashed the Dark Knight's face in, and Flash had looked on the verge of tears when Bruce had gotten done with him.

"He claims to have been trained by an alternate version of myself. What I just laid out is something I would do."

"Even if he's trained by you, it doesn't make him your clone," Superman said, regretting his choice of words even as they left his mouth.

"No, I don't have one of those."

Superman did feel the sting that time, knowing that gibe had been on purpose.

"This arguing is getting us nowhere. I suggest we take a vote," Diana broke in before one of the infamous Superman/Batman fights could occur. She did make a mental note to ask about the "clone" comment, though. It wasn't something Bruce would just throw out there.

"That's a good idea, but don't you think this should be something all of us should get to decide on? I mean, we're not the only ones that use the Watchtower," Flash asked.

"Indeed, one of the lads claims to be a subject of Aquaman. He should at least have a say," J'onn agreed.

"We don't have time to call together every single member. They are here _now_," Hawkgirl responded.

"If we take a vote with any members outside of the Founders, then everyone will want to know why they weren't asked," Batman said, knowing how petty some of his fellow heroes could be when it came to perceived power.

Superman sighed, knowing they were going to have to take a vote on whether or not to take a vote and either outcome it was going to come down to him to explain everything to everyone else. As much as he and Bruce were the acknowledged "top two" of the group, Batman wasn't much of a spokesperson, even if Clark did wish he could push the spotlight onto him every once in a while.

"How about we take a vote, then ask later if anyone can offer any suggestions that would be better?" Superman asked, always trying to find a solution that would make the most people happy.

Everyone nodded and, as much time as it took to argue these things over, the vote itself was done in minutes. It was agreed: they would stay at the Watchtower, but under close surveillance and with limited privileges.

That done, Batman locked eyes with Superman and the other knew before any words left Bruce's mouth that he wasn't going to like what was coming.

**AN: **What'd you think? As always, criticism welcome & let me know if you see any mistakes!

Also, I realized after I wrote this, I _think_ Aquaman is a Founder...but he never answers his JLA communicator in half the comics & doesn't seem too pleased by them bothering him in general, so whatevs~

**Another Note to my Flashy Friends: **I seriously have no concept of how fast Flash is. I've seen Wally go get a dress for Linda in the comics in the time it took for her to turn around and demand where her dress was. (Good thing for speed, poor Wally's kinda forgetful. ^_^) Yet, at the same time, Joker has threatened in the TV series that not even he can move the bombs fast enough before they blow up. (Which he does manage to, but only as a last resort...not even Wally realizes how fast he is?)

...Ok, so the point of that major little AN is that you may notice throughout the fic that I switch from saying he can go down a hall in a second to saying he can do it in a millisecond, then a picosecond, then back to a second...I'm working on it. -_-0


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **We Meet Again  
**Author: **Takebuo Ishimatsu  
**Pairing(s):** None?  
**Summary:** Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice.

_**AN: **__Well, this was originally a 96-page epic in honor of Batman & Superman's eternal love (and all their buttsex), but, alas, my computer ate it & I could only remember the first 95 pages, so I said f*ck it & decided to go with this version of chapter 3 instead._

_...Yes, that was all complete B.S. BUT, I _did_ re-write almost all of this chapter and now have a nice direction to go for the next one, so hopefully chapter 4 comes fairly quickly.  
_

"I'd like to run some tests on them. Hopefully confirm or deny that they are who they say they are, at least to some extent."

"B, that feels like an awful invasion of their privacy. They're not guinea pigs."

"What sort of tests? I personally don't see what harm it could do to take a few blood samples. Though, I draw the line at forcing them to go through neural scans or physical competition," Hawkgirl said.

They all knew how Bruce collected data. He'd write down Superboy's exact hit-strength and Kid Flash's thought-processing time, if they let him.

"Yeah, but what if they're worried about their secret identities? They had some bad times in the previous worlds and it could cause a big rift between us if we try to force them," Flash said.

"So? We still don't have anything but their word that they're actually a group of heroes. They could be villains made by Luthor for all we know," John retorted. If there was a way to easily confirm or deny their story, he was all for it.

"If Luthor had a way to transport people to the Watchtower, I think he'd have thought of something a little more diabolical than a bunch of kids in spandex," Diana said with rolled eyes. As much as they all loved blaming things on Luthor, a line had to be drawn somewhere.

Batman resisted the urge to point out the _hacking into the Watchtower_ part again, knowing that if it hadn't gone through their thick skulls the first time, he wasn't likely to hammer it in the second. He'd just have to make his own back-up plan. As usual.

GL shrugged, "I'm just saying, they could be Martians in disguise for all we know. Wouldn't be the first time."

Well, at least _one_ person appeared to be on his side. Now, if only he could convince the Boy Scout that most people weren't raised on a farm with his upstanding morals and felt no remorse over lying or stabbing you in the back.

"I'm not certain about running medical tests on children, but I will point out that they may not have secret identities. If we never met them in our universe, there is the possibility that they simply do not exist here," J'onn added his two cents.

"Hey guys, before we get into another verbal battle, why don't we just ask them and then go from there?" Flash said, holding up his hands in a peaceful manner.

"They did already claim to be used to Batman's methods," J'onn agreed.

They looked at each other for a moment, before Batman nodded.

"It's worth a try."

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

Briskly walking down the hall, Hawkgirl and Diana led the way. As they went, Hawkgirl filled the other woman in on who exactly they were going to be meeting, causing Diana to grow more excited with each word, though she was only deeply interested in one of them at the moment.

They gave each other knowing looks out of the corner of their eyes. A trained warrior of Atlantis didn't even make them blink. Likewise, a playful young Flash was nothing eye-popping, even if they did wonder how he'd gotten his power. A Superman clone was freaky, but not too surprising, considering people like Luthor and those at Cadmus. But a kid that _Batman _had mentored? That was something they just _had_ to see.

Reaching their destination, Flash darted in front of the two and opened the door with a bow. They both rolled their eyes, though they could tell by his mischievous smirk that he'd done it more for their reaction than to be, in their opinion, chauvinistic.

Apparently startled by their sudden entrance, the young man gave them a worried look that shifted down to the metal pieces all around him and then back up to the older heroes again.

"It was making this weird ticking noise that was just driving me _insane_, so I...stopped it," Robin said sheepishly, addressing all of them, though his eyes were only on the black-clad man.

"It's surprisingly easy to take apart, uh, not so much to put back together," he added when no one spoke.

Diana covered her mouth, not wanting a very un-hero-like giggle to be the boy's first impression of her. Or, rather, his re-impression.

"The 'ticking noise' would have been the machine re-adjusting itself for the next use," Batman replied blandly, giving the other a look that clearly said he was NOT impressed.

Robin fidgeted and refused to look at his mentor, appearing very much like a naughty child caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"We'll deal with that later," Superman said, ever the peace-maker, "Right now, I'd like to re-introduce you to Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl," he finished, indicating each as he spoke.

Robin glanced up and waved from his spot on the floor, "Hey."

They nodded in greeting back.

"I see Flash got you your shirt," Superman said as the boy stood, amused by brand.

Though Bruce wouldn't admit it on pain of death, Clark knew he was no doubt a little ticked at something he deemed to possibly be his wearing another's colors. The Boy Scout might have considered it devious of Flash, if he didn't already believe the other man had just wanted to be amusing.

"It's a little big," Hawkgirl commented, noting how it went to the other's mid-thigh.

"He'll grow into it," Flash answered proudly, as if the boy was already his.

Bruce's bristle was just barely visible to Clark.

So much for the Level 6 threat, he thought with amusement.

Though, knowing the other as he did, that part probably endeared the child even more to the Bat.

He could already see the two sitting side-by-side in his mind's eye, both typing furiously on their keyboards as they broke through firewalls and snatched data that top-level government officials weren't privy to. Perhaps with identical scowls on their faces, and then similar self-satisfied smiles. Maybe even sharing a plate of cookies from Alfred while they worked.

Clark covered his smile discretely.

Bruce's glare told him that he knew the Kryptonian was laughing at him for some reason, and he was already planning revenge.

"If I may ask, what is your age?"

"Jeez, what's with everyone wanting to know my age all of a sudden?" Robin said in response to J'onn's question, "Do I really look that young?"

"It's more that we worry about when you started all of this," Superman said, turning to give Bruce a Look out of the corner of his eye, even if it was the wrong Batman.

"Oh, I've been doing that since before I'd met Batman," Robin said with a nonchalant wave.

"Fighting crime?" John asked incredulously.

"No way man. I mean the gymnastics stuff."

Everyone but Superman and Batman gave him a blank look, the latter having been paying attention to his fighting style during their initial confrontation.

"He didn't tell you?" Robin asked, sounding almost bummed out. Maybe his cool ninja moves earlier in the medical bay hadn't been as impressive as he'd hoped, if Superman hadn't even mentioned them.

"You're a gymnast?" Hawkgirl asked. She silently added that it accounted for why he seemed so tiny, even for his estimated age.

"More like an acrobat, though not really anymore. Well, unless you count crime fighting?" Robin answered with a shrug. Did one count flipping over baddies and landing to kick them in the face a form of acrobatics?

"Oh, by the way, I'm thirteen," he added, knowing Bruce was keeping track of the fact that he hadn't answered the original question, even if no one else was.

Flash whistled, both impressed and worried.

"So, can I see the others?" Robin asked. Following Batman's look, he winced at the mess still all around him on the floor.

"I'll fix it later, Scout's Honor," he said, giving the three-finger gesture for his words.

At several raised eyebrows, he amended, "Well, I mean, if I was ever a Scout. Superman did try to get me to join once. His suggestion was duly ignored." He finished with a smirk, clearly amused with his teacher's usual methods.

The League members could just imagine how _that_ conversation had gone, if the other world's Superman and Batman were anything like their own.

"Why don't you take it with you?" Flash asked, forcefully shifting his thoughts away from the amusing image of Bruce participating in Father-Son three-legged races. While still in his Batman outfit.

It was Superman that approved the idea, and soon they were all walking down the hall again, each older hero carrying a small piece of the machine. Diana and Hawkgirl couldn't help but smile at each other as Robin strayed out of Batman's sight several times as he walked, looking this way and that like any normal, curious child.

Finally, half-way to the holding area, Bruce reached out and physically pulled the smaller hero in front of him, where he could keep an eye on the boy. Robin didn't seem to mind the unspoken order and just kept trotting along like nothing had happened.

Just as they reached the door, the young hero whipped around and held up his hands, only to then grab his chest.

"Sooo shouldn't have done that," he said with a wince, sounding winded. He waved them all off as they moved to help him.

"I'm fine. Just moved too fast. Anyway, I just realized something I'm-Actually, are these doors soundproof?" They gave each other looks at the abrupt change of topic, though Superman did nod slowly to the other's question, "Good. Ok, so I'm sure B has told you that the other him adopted me and..." he trailed off at their surprised looks.

"Or maybe he hasn't. Nevermind!" Robin said quickly, turning to open the door only to find Flash standing in front of it.

"Just a second there, kid. Let's hear the end of this story," he said, giving the other an insistent look.

Dick glanced behind himself to see Bruce's reaction, relaxing slightly when the other nodded.

"Well, he adopted me after my parents were killed. I was just going to say that my teammates don't know that we live together and to ask that you try not give it away on accident," he said sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders at the irony of it.

"We understand," J'onn said, just as the other John playfully hit Batman in the shoulder, exclaiming, "You old dog! Got yourself a kid and don't want anyone to know, huh?"

Bruce scowled, responding negatively towards the playful taunting. "I didn't believe it important enough to mention. He's not _my_ son. I think I would remember adopting a traumatized, orphaned acrobat."

Dick winced, looking down. "That one _kind_ of hurt, B," he said, trying to make it sound like a joke, though they could all heard the real pain underneath.

Clark turned to give the Dark Knight his best glare, which he'd been practicing for when he next saw Luthor, so it actually wasn't that bad. However, the other was already striding up to the front of the group to reach for the door.

Clark rolled his eyes as Bruce moved to avoid the situation entirely rather than deal with others' emotions. Typical.

The detective paused just before opening the door, turning to glance at the boy who quickly looked away.

"You know my name?" he asked randomly.

Robin nodded, "Of course."

"So do they," Bruce said, nodding in the other heroes' direction, "Use it, but be careful of super-hearing."

And then he was opening the door, pushing the child in first.

Clark smiled proudly at his best friend's back. Even after all their years together, Bruce could still surprise him at times.

All of the young heroes jumped up from the chairs they'd been given when Robin entered, followed by the older men and women. Kid Flash darted over to his friend and made as if to give him a hug before thinking better of it and instead giving him a few hearty pats on the shoulders.

"Good to see you again, Rob. Like the shirt."

"Thanks."

Before the Justice League members knew what was happening, Kid Flash took the metal pieces from them and then was back shaking each of the newcomers' hands within seconds.

"Nicetomeetyou. I'mKidFlash. Whatapleasure."

And then, before they could blink, he was beside Robin once again, his hands behind his back as if nothing had happened. The other boy wacked him upside his head, muttering, "Spazz."

"Not all of us are as grouchy as _some_," Kid Flash whispered back out of the corner of his mouth.

After more formal introductions, everyone taking an extra moment to observe Superman's annoyed-looking clone, they stood around awkwardly, wondering how to broach the subject.

"I want to take some samples from you, in order to verify that you are who you say you are," Batman said bluntly.

"If you don't mind. You don't have to, but we'll probably have to be more restrictive until we have more proof of the truthfulness of your story. We've also had some bad experiences with people from different worlds," Superman said more kindly.

"Gotta make sure you're not Martians, no offense, or cyborgs or something worse," Flash added.

"No biggie for me," Kid Flash shrugged before a frown suddenly came to his face, "Wait, are you going to have to draw blood?"

"And the prize goes to the idiot in the yellow spandex," Robin said, no doubt rolling his eyes behind his domino mask.

"Dude! You know I hate needles!" Turning towards the older heroes, he added with a pained face, "The wound is so tiny, my body sometimes heals itself before the blood's done being drawn. Then it gets it stuck in there and we have to yank it out and bits of skin-"

"We get the point," Aqualad said, coming up to put a comforting hand on his shoulder while glancing behind him at Miss Martian, who looked a little horrified at the description.

"My tests are very precise. They use far less blood than a normal lab does. If need be, we can use a hair follicle," Batman said calmly, meanwhile adding the information to his mental database in case he ever needed to poke the older Flash.

"Man, I totally know what you mean," Flash sympathized.

"I don't like tests," Superboy said with a huff, crossing his arms angrily.

"They won't hurt," Diana offered, "I doubt we'll be able to pierce your skin to begin with, so a hair should do."

Superboy glared at her, "I'm not afraid of pain." He turned his gaze towards Superman before looking down moodily, "I'm not an experiment."

"Technically..." Robin trailed off, pointing his palms up as he semi-shrugged in response.

"You-" Superboy was cut off as Aqualad moved in front of him, blocking his path to the youngest hero.

"Robin, that was not 'cool,'" he said, giving the other a dark look.

"Sorry. Inherited his mouth," Robin joked, pointing with his thumb towards the Dark Knight behind him.

Clark resisted the urge to smile at Bruce's affronted look, as if he couldn't believe that the boy was blaming him for his rude bluntness. The Kryptonian began to wonder about the "World's Greatest Detective" title if Bruce truly didn't realize that children mimicked their parents.

Regardless of blame, it seemed to calm Superboy down as he relaxed in the Atlantian's hold.

"That's...true," he responded lamely, not knowing what else to say.

"If you plan on staying here for any extended amount of time, you'll have to work on your anger management," Batman hissed, glaring at Superboy. The last thing they needed was a Superman-level meta rampaging around the Watchtower.

The boy looked away guiltily and the Dark Knight turned his glare to the smallest hero, "And you need to learn how to watch your mouth."

Robin looked about to protest, no doubt going to say something about a pot and a kettle, when Batman simply narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Don't even think about it."

The boy quickly zipped his lips.

Moving to lighten the sudden awkward silence, Superman stepped slightly in front of Batman and said in a calming voice, "As we said, it's optional, you don't have to if you don't want to. It's really only for our peace of mind."

Superboy looked at him uncertainly before asking awkwardly, "Your...peace of mind?"

Superman blinked before nodding, "I suppose so."

Clark watched as the boy looked at him a moment longer before plucking a hair from his head and holding it out, looking away as he did so. Thinking it odd, he gently took it from the other, confused as to why the young hero didn't seem willing to meet his gaze for more than a second at a time.

"Thanks," he said with a smile, turning to give it to Bruce.

The boy gave him an uncertain smile in return, his quirked lips looking even more frail than Bruce's "barely-theres."

He was beginning to worry about the other's clear lack of social skills. Perhaps growing up on a small farm in the middle of nowhere wasn't the best of getting-to-know-people plans for a clone with no previous social interaction. (Besides whoever Cadmus had had around, that is.) Or did the boy live with the other him in Metropolis?

"Dude, can I give you a hair too?" Kid Flash asked hopefully.

Bruce resisted the urge to sigh, "Yes."

Aqualad quickly followed suit, while Robin just (lightly) crossed his arms and gave him a knowing look that said he knew he'd saved some of the blood that he'd gotten everywhere.

Miss Martian frowned when it came time for her, "This form isn't real; I don't actually have hair."

Bruce nodded, "We have the technology to test Martians." Turning towards Clark, he added, "I'll get her samples later. Right now, I want to get these down to the lab."

"Sounds good," Clark said with a nod, though Bruce was already moving towards the door.

They watched him leave before turning back towards the children, who looked ill at ease at all the attention.

"Soooo," Robin said, breaking the silence, "Who wants to help me put the Medbot 407 back together?"

Kid Flash's eyes widened behind his mask, "Dude! You killed Stitchy?"

"Stitchy? Seriously?" Robin asked with a smirk.

Kid Flash scowled and pointed a finger at the other, "As if you're any better with names! I'm not the guy that named his pet bat Nightwing."

"Dude, first off, it wasn't my pet. I accidentally hit it with a batarang when training and was nursing it back to heath."

Superman heard Superboy mutter to Aqualad, "They have actual bats? Isn't that taking it a little too far?"

He resisted the urge to snicker.

" Secondly, the name Nightwing is _classy_ and _cool_, something which you know nothing about, Flash Kid. Or was it Speedy? Flash Jr.? I can never remember," Robin replied mockingly.

"Dude, you did so not just go there," Kid Flash returned, leaning in dangerously.

Robin leaned in himself until they were centimeters apart, "Dude, I so just did!"

"Guys," Miss Martian said worriedly, causing both boys to turn their heads towards her, looking oddly like some sort of statue or practiced circus act with their nearness to each other.

"Perhaps now isn't the best time to fight. Robin is injured, remember?" she said, giving them disapproving looks as best she could.

"What are you talking about?" Robin asked incredulously, standing up straight.

Kid Flash wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders as he said, "Rob's my bud. I'd never actually hit him."

The poor Martian girl just looked confused.

"It's their way of showing affection for each other," Aqualad said, trying his best to explain Earth's odd customs when he barely understood them himself.

"Dude, you make us sound like a couple or something," Kid Flash said with a wince, taking his arm away from Robin's shoulders.

Superboy snorted behind them, which everyone chose to ignore. Though it did make Kid Flash blush a little.

Sighing, Aqualad seemed to give up as he then turned to the elder heroes and said, "We're usually more professional."

"Hey, there's no harm in having fun when nothing major's going on," Flash answered with a shrug.

Kaldur nodded before getting to what had been on his mind since they'd gotten there, "When may I see my King, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We'll call him for you and explain the situation," Superman answered. Tapping the comlink in his ear, he added, "B, could you contact Aquaman for us, please? Thanks."

Though Superman gave no sign that he'd heard, Superboy did smirk a little as he caught the sound of Batman mumbling on his side of the line that he "had important work to do" and he "wasn't a secretary."

"So, while we wait, I've been dying to ask you kid, how did you get your power? Are you connected to the Speed Force?" Flash asked before adding, "I mean, if you want to tell me."

The redhead looked towards his friends, specifically Robin, before whispering uncertainly, "I want to tell him."

Robin shrugged, "They seem...better than the ones we met before. It's your decision."

_He_ wasn't about to tell them any life stories, other than what he'd already said for necessities' sake, but Wally was free to do as he pleased. So long as it didn't jeopardize the entire team, of course.

Kid Flash bit his lip before nodding slowly, turning his gaze back to the other speedster.

"I am. Connected to the Speed Force, I mean. And I got my powers the same way you did. Same place too."

Barry winced, just imaging what the boy's parents had to say about him when their son was given the same powers as his own. Had they blamed him? Was it actually his fault somehow? In fact, now that he thought about it...

"What were you doing in the lab in the first place?" he asked curiously, trying not to sound like he was blaming the other.

Kid Flash paused again before all but whispering, "You're my uncle."

**AN: **Ok, just in case there are any YJ-only fans out there that don't know anything about DC, my limited knowledge of the universe allows me to tell you that I _think_ white Martians are bad & green Martians are good. (In some continuity, anyway. Sometimes the white guys are not actually Martians at all, but conquering invaders. Other times they're green Martian prisoners or whatever-they-were that wanted to take over the world.) Sooooo, obviously she's a Martian, but they're more worried that all of the kids are white Martians/bad Martians and/or cyborgs, etc. Seriously, it's all happened before in DC.

Some concerns of my own that I'd like to address: First off, hopefully they all appear to be warming up to each other nicely, with the kids telling them more & more info slowly. Likewise, Batman's still wary, but his possessive streak is starting to kick in. ;) Secondly, I know that some of the characters don't have as many lines. I'm trying to work on it, but, truthfully, it's kind of hard to control that many characters "on screen" at the same time.

Otherwise, once again, let me know what you think in general or if you see any mistakes! (Especially considering this was mainly written & edited at three in the morning. -_-0) Thanks!

**Secondary AN to Martian Fans: **I think I'm understanding their physiology correctly. Technically, M'gann and J'onn don't really have hair/clothes/what-have-you because it's all a shape-shifted part of their body, right? So M'gann wouldn't be able to give a piece of hair since it's more like giving a piece of her actual "substance." Right?


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **We Meet Again  
**Author: **Takebuo Ishimatsu  
**Pairing(s): **None?  
**Summary: **Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast.

**Disclaimer: **Ido not own Young Justice. 

**AN: **4,500+ words of...nothing truly plot-advancing. T-T **  
**

Barry's eyes widened behind his mask, appearing larger than a full moon on the horizon.

"Wow, Kid Flash, just...wow!" The other leaned back a little, as if physically blown away by the information, causing KF to frown uncertainly.

Wally figured it'd be just his luck to finally arrive in a universe in which his fellow speedster wasn't some crazy Australian criminal, or _dead_, only to receive a Superman-meets-Superboy reaction.

He didn't have much time to worry about what he'd do if that was the case, since the older hero was suddenly attempting to squeeze him to death, actually picking the redhead up off the floor in his over-enthusiastic bear hug.

"This is so cool!" Barry exclaimed, and Wally felt he was only just restraining himself from jumping up and down with him. Which, actually, wouldn't have been _too_ horrible. Wally was hardly one to discourage overenthusiastic expressions of love and friendship.

However...

"Uncle B...can't...breath..." Kid Flash wheezed as best he could while Barry appeared to be trying to weld the two together by sheer force alone.

"Oh, sorry kid," Barry apologized, though his proud smile belied his words. He didn't look very sorry at _all_ as he gently smoothed out the other's costume and ruffled his hair.

Kid Flash gave the older hero a content smile, almost child-like in its relief, as if he was a little one that had just been reunited with his mother after losing her in a store. Barry resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks at the look, even though he was fairly certain he could get away with it. That was what uncles did, after all. Right?

"Give the poor kid some breathing room, Flash," John said, the amusement clear in his voice.

"Hey now, it's not every day you find out you have unknown family nearby," Barry huffed, shaking his finger at the Lantern.

John rolled his eyes in response, muttering that the kid was _just_ a long-lost nephew. Not like he was his son or anything. As far as he was concerned, Batman had way more reason to squeal in joy than Flash did.

Well, that is, if the words "Batman" and "squeal" could ever be in the same sentence without "perp" somewhere in between.

Barry ignored his playful grumbling, instead wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders and mock whispering, "Don't mind him, KF. He's just jealous that _he_ doesn't have any alternate world relatives-slash-apprentices-slash-fellow speedsters in general."

Wally smiled, gave the other an uncertain look, then smiled again, though it was a little shaky the second time around.

"Um, actually, you could, you know...call me...Wally. If you want," he said awkwardly, fidgeting all the while.

He wanted to believe the other was his uncle, in a unique way, even if the others (ok, mainly just Rob) were up to their ears in paranoia and mistrust. The man had reacted just as he'd imagined his real Uncle B would and had had a gentle, playful air about him ever since he'd realized they were no real threat. The same "aura" his Flash had.

He just hoped he wasn't rushing forward too fast, as odd a thought as that was for him, by allowing the other in to his private life so quickly.

Barry's gaze turned serious as he nodded slowly, realizing where the boy's, _Wally's_, uneasiness came from. The other was carefully reaching out towards him, hoping he didn't turn out to be a crook or a nutjob like the kids' last mentor encounters. The older speedster was glad he could invoke such trust so soon after they'd met.

It had to mean the other Barry did well by the kid, right?

He smiled at that thought.

Their happy moment of silence, probably the longest time the two had ever been still while conscious, was broken as Miss Martian stepped forward.

"You can call me M'gann, or Megan. Either one's fine," she said, shaking everyone's hand as she re-introduced herself.

"M'gann," J'onn said softly when the girl was in front of him, as if testing the word.

"And that's Kaldur," she said, pointing towards the Atlantian. The boy nodded.

"Nothing from you two?" Hawkgirl asked the two other young heroes.

Superboy looked away quickly, a stubborn, yet almost sad, expression coming to his face.

Clark frowned. "Something the matter?"

"No," Superboy all but growled out, his crossed arms tightening as if he was trying to huddle in on himself without appearing to be doing so.

There was a sudden awkward silence as none of the young heroes seemed willing to meet any of the older crime fighters' gazes, all of them finding the ceiling, the floor, their shoes, Wonder Woman's belt, what-have-you, far more interesting to look at. Clark's frown deepened and he began to wonder just what the other Clark had named the boy to get such a reaction. Or perhaps a recently-lost friend had given him his name?

Clark saddened as he suddenly wondered if his mother or father had named the boy in the other world and one or both were now gone. Poor kid. Poor other-world him too.

Clark quickly shook off the depressing thoughts, telling himself he was starting to sound paranoid like Bruce. Ma and Pa weren't yet _that_ old.

Right?

Finally, just when it appeared that no one was willing to elaborate, M'gann stepped forwards uncertainly, "Um, Superboy doesn't-"

"Want to tell you. Sorry," Superboy interrupted, fading off into a whisper at the last word.

"Yeah, the same goes for me," Robin jumped in quickly, "I mean, can you even _comprehend_ the magnitude of Batman's explosion if he found out I told a bunch of, technically, strangers my secret identity? Even just my first name? The fallout alone would kill hundreds and ruin the lives of thousands more." Though the young hero ended on a smile, they all knew he wasn't _entirely_ joking.

Clark and his fellow Leaguers allowed the not-so-subtle cover for the other Super, realizing there was something deeper there that they weren't yet trusted enough to learn. Instead, Clark shifted his thoughts to what the smallest hero had said, smiling fondly as he did so.

That did sound like Bruce, all right.

Unfortunately, even without their scrutiny, the clone wilted at something the other had said, though he did give Robin a polite nod of thanks for his save.

"That's all right, guys. We didn't know Big, Bad Bats' name until post-Earth emergency. And, truthfully, I still don't call him by it all that often," Barry leaned towards Superboy and put a hand on one side of his mouth, as if hiding his lips from a non-present shadow-lurker, "It's a bit weird thinking of him as, you know, _human_."

Barry's playfulness seemed to work as Clark's look-alike smiled ever so slightly.

"Dude, I'm still waiting on proof that he _is_ human. As far as I'm concerned, he's a robot. No offense, Stitchy." Wally joked as he sat down next to the Medbot, finally ready to get to work now that all of the drama was out of the way.

"Wally, Robin is standing right next to you," Kaldur tried to rebuke the other just as Diana asked amusedly, "A robot?"

"Yeah, this idiot here has an elaborate theory, complete with empirical evidence, on how Batman's really an android that runs on black coffee," Robin snarked, lowering himself down next to the other. Slowly.

He didn't want any more pain-inducing fast moves like earlier. KF would _freak_ if Dick let on that his hardcore drug cocktail didn't cover every little ache and pain. (Which, in itself, was worrisome, considering what Bruce was known to put in those things. So much for the usefulness of drug resistance.)

Wally'd probably enlist the help of naively overprotective Superboy to lock him in a closet somewhere if he thought "his little Robbie" had an "owie."

Really, Dick should have hit him the first time he'd said something like that. Maybe then he wouldn't have such a problem with his two "big brothers."

Meta jerks. Ganging up on him.

"Dude, what'd you do to this poor thing?" Wally asked, dangling two pieces, which were just barely connected together via a thin red wire.

Dick just shrugged in response. So, he'd had a hard time figuring out the source of the ticking noise the first six times around. So what? He was on _serious_ drugs; he felt he was allowed a little leeway.

"Anyway," Wally continued, apparently realizing he wasn't getting more of an answer, "have you guys seen the amount of caffeine Bats takes in? I'm pretty sure it's lethal to _normal_ people. I mean, I don't think _I_ could even down sixteen cups in one day without adverse side affects."

"So he likes coffee," Robin said with a shrug, before any of the JL could comment on the fact that they were _fairly_ certain Batman was, in fact, human. The "so what" was unspoken by the boy, but heavily implied.

"_Understatement_ ," was all the reply he got from Kid Flash.

"You do realize, he's probably listening to you right now on the other side of the Watchtower?" Robin replied with a smirk, his grin widening as Wally paled slightly.

"I'm just saying..." he mumbled, fiddling nervously with one of Stitchy's arms.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Superman is more than capable of protecting you, should Batman attempt revenge," Diana said with a smirk, playfully pushing the Kryptonian, as if silently saying, "Right, Clark?"

Wally gave the lead superhero a hopeful look, to which Clark responded with a reassuring, "Um..."

Wally wilted.

"Superman," Clark actually jumped a little at the soft growl in his ear.

"Yeah, B?" he responded carefully, noting that Wally was suddenly attempting to hide in the slack of Robin's overly large Flash shirt.

It didn't appear to be going so well.

"Aquaman has arrived." Clark could practically _hear_ the smirk in the other's voice.

He rolled his eyes, guessing that the other Atlantian had probably arrived a few minutes ago, but, knowing Bruce, the Dark Knight had been eavesdropping on them and had waited for the perfect dramatic moment to announce it.

"Confirmed." Nodding towards Aqualad, he added, "Your mentor has just arrived."

"You mean he actually answered his JL signal for once?" John said with a snort.

"It was bound to happen sometime," Hawkgirl responded and the two shared a smile.

Kaldur frowned at the joking, sensing that there was a real annoyance hidden under the smiles. "Does he not usually in this world?"

"He tends to give most of his focus towards his own people," J'onn answered diplomatically before the others could say anything otherwise.

Kaldur nodded slowly as he let the information sink in. Apparently they'd found another difference between the two worlds. Though his own King did prefer to help sea-dwellers first, he was hardly one to ignore his fellow Leaguers when they called.

"If I may see him?"

Superman nodded and motioned for the younger hero to follow him.

"Take him to the lounge area. I'm sending Aquaman over there now," Bruce's voice came over the comlink. Clark sighed, though he wasn't surprised. Of course the other wouldn't want the boy in the transport room. At least not until they were done "sidekick (_partner_) proofing" it.

"On it. Superman out."

The two quietly made their way to the resting area, the silence comfortable as Clark got the impression the boy wasn't much of a talker and thus he didn't try to force him into a conversation. He already knew he was going to have a hard enough time prying small talk out of Bruce when he and Lois came over for their scheduled interview next week. He had to start reserving his energy early for the confrontation.

That reminded him, he had to call Alfred and make sure the saint of a man had Bruce's favorite cookies ready when they arrived.

Reaching the room, Clark walked in first, not surprised to see the king there already, tapping his foot in annoyance. Just how long had Bruce left him alone before deciding it was time to announce his presence?

Clark's mind began to formulate a theory regarding Batman, a homosexual android, a honeymoon suite, and revenge.

Despite what Arthur had told them all about being very busy with an oil spill and unable to help his comrade right away, Clark was certain Bruce still hadn't forgiven him. Though that _might_ have had something to do with Arthur laughing so hard he'd almost fallen over when he'd finally arrived to "save his innocence." (His words, not Bruce's).

Clark resisted the urge to sigh.

That'd been the exact reason (well, sort of) why he'd not wanted the completely-human hero to take on a super-strengthed robot on his own, regardless of all his little gadgets and tools.

As Kaldur entered in behind him, Clark politely pointed towards each hero, introducing them to each other.

"Arthur, this is Kaldur, also known as Aqualad. Kaldur, I'm certain you've met Arthur before."

The boy looked shell-shocked for a moment, before raising a fist to his forehead in a proper Atlantian greeting.

"My King, it is an honor to meet you."

Aquaman stared at the other for a long moment, pretending not to notice as Superman quietly slipped out the door.

"You look surprised to see me. Were you expecting someone else?" he asked carefully, not entirely certain he trusted the other just yet. Especially not when he looked so much like...

Well, he supposed it was cruel of him to judge the other on appearances alone. He was fairly certain not even _Batman_ went that far.

The boy appeared to be contemplating his answer before nodding slowly, "Actually, I was expecting King Orin. Have you heard of him?"

Arthur actually felt a little bad when he had to shake his head as to the negative. The boy looked so hopeful.

"I'm afraid I have heard of no such man."

"I see," Kaldur said softly, feeling slightly lonely, before an thought came to him. "What of Queen Mera? Or Prince Orm?"

The King's eyes darkened and Kaldur worried that he'd asked something inappropriate, before the other spit out, "My _dear_ brother Orm is a traitor who rightfully got what he deserved."

Kaldur's eyes widened. Orm? A traitor?

That was just...not possible.

The blond's voice softened as he took in the sight of the other, "I see from your expression that perhaps that is not the case in your world. Regardless, it would probably be best if you didn't mention him again." Kaldur nodded. "As for Queen Mera, she still lives happily under the sea with our son."

Arthur smiled proudly, always looking for any excuse to mention his boy, even if he wasn't usually one to speak much with strangers.

Kaldur frowned slightly, "Your history sounds a great deal like my King's. He is brother to Prince Orm, though we have seen no animosity between them. And Queen Mera is currently with King Orin's child."

Arthur nodded, "So, it would appear that in your world, I was never born and instead this...Orin took my place."

Kaldur felt that he could point out that perhaps King _Arthur_ was the one taking _Orin's_ place, but knew it wouldn't be proper to contradict the other.

Instead he replied cooperatively with, "It would appear so, my King."

"Is he a good king?" Arthur asked, not entirely certain how he felt about another man ruling over his people. He had a hard enough time already with meddlesome land-dwellers, let alone another Atlantian as born-ruler.

"The best," Kaldur responded without thinking, before lowering his eyes when he'd realized what he'd said. "Forgive me."

Arthur observed the boy for a moment before wrapping an arm around his shoulders (silently noting how the young hero eyed his hook).

"Tell me more about your Atlantis. And your King. And yourself. And your _Mera_."

Kaldur smiled. While perhaps not _his_ King, he supposed the other wasn't so bad.

"Yes, my King."

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

Meanwhile, the other heroes were still in the holding area, trying to extract every little bit of personal information from the children as possible. Which, for some, was proving harder than going a round with Darkseid.

Wally seemed more than happy to tell his uncle anything and everything he could possibly want to know (and then some), and M'gann was over in the corner, using Martian telepathy to share a quiet moment with her own uncle. However, Robin was easily side-stepping any question even hinting towards something secretive while Superboy, for his part, just ignored them all, sulking in the corner with his arms crossed and his face scrunched up somewhere between a scowl and a pout.

It was sort of adorable, even if Diana was starting to worry about what had caused the child to be so permanently upset. She felt she knew Clark well enough to assume it wasn't something he'd done, which left her with little other clues.

Now, if the angsty one had been Bruce's apprentice...

"Hey, Supey, come help me with this," Robin said, not even bothering to give the Super a glance, instead putting all of his focus into carefully examining two of "Stitchy's" wires.

"Don't give me orders," Superboy growled, though he came over to the other boy anyway.

"Yeah, yeah," Robin said, giving him a flippant wave.

Holding up the two identical looking parts, Robin turned towards the other, "Look at these and tell me which one was cut and which one shows signs of being yanked out."

Superboy scowled, "Don't you have a microscope or something?"

Though the domino covered his eyes, Diana got the distinct impression the boy was rolling them at the other.

"Yeah, in my belt. Which Batman _confiscated_," shifting to an annoyed look, Robin added, "He won't be giving it back."

Superboy frowned, "What if we shift into another dimension without it?"

Robin actually seemed to ponder the question before answering, "Well, I suppose there is the slight possibility that it will automatically travel with us, if whatever is making us do this in the first place recognizes that it's not part of this world and rejects it."

There was a pause before Robin shook his head, "Nah, that won't happen. Look at these." He held up the wires again.

Diana wondered why the boy had invalided his own theory, and, apparently, so did the clone as he asked, "Why not? It makes sense to me."

"Yeah, but if that was true, then everything else we've left behind would have shown up in the Watchtower when we arrived."

Superboy tilted his head curiously, "What'd we leave behind?"

"Mostly just unneeded organic matter," Robin replied with a shrug.

"'Unneeded organic matter'?"

"Yeah, you know," Robin gave him a pointed look, to which Superboy just replied with a frustrated look, clearly not getting it.

Robin smacked himself in the forehead, before letting out a sigh.

"Sweat? Blood? Pee? Poop?"

Diana could tell the boy was just barely restraining himself from saying something degrading to the other. Which was more than could normally be said for his mentor.

Superboy nodded slowly. "So..." he paused as if mentally working through some sort of difficult equation, "if your belt's not coming with us and we teleport before Batman returns it, doesn't that mean you'll be helpless in the next world?"

"Dude, I just won't have my belt. I won't be _helpless_."

"But you're also injured."

"Supey, don't even go there," Robin warned.

"You need protection," Superboy concluded.

Robin scowled, "You went there."

Finally realizing that there was a conversation going on right beside him, Wally turned away from his uncle to ask, "What? Protection? Who? What'd I miss?"

"Nothing. Go back to talking a million words per second with your uncle."

"Robin needs our protection. He's injured and Batman took his utility belt," Superboy corrected.

Wally's eyes widened, "That's true! And, scientifically speaking, we have no evidence that we were all transported together because of our connection to another world, or if it was because we were all together each time a portal opened. If we're separated when it happens again-"

"_Shut_ _up_, Wally."

"-then we could appear in different places! Or even different worlds!"

"That is a _big_ jump in logic to make, with no proof to support it, Mr. Genius. Haven't you noticed that we appear in the exact location relative to each other that we were in the previous universe? The Watchtower's not big enough for us to even be out of each other's sight for too long in another universe, should we be teleported."

Wally smirked and looked over the smaller boy's head as he mock-whispered, "He's just in denial. We gotta stay with him and protect him at all times!"

Superboy nodded quickly in confirmation, actually scooting closer to the little bird, who was looking quite ruffled by then. Diana wasn't entirely certain if she should intervene and tell the poor naïve clone that the other was just messing with his friend, or sit back and enjoy the show.

Catching the knowing looks of her fellow heroes, minutes J'onn, she decided it wouldn't hurt anything if they all went along with it for a little bit.

"Protect who?" M'gann asked, breaking away from her fellow Martian.

"Nobody!"

"Robin!"

The two boys glared at each other, with Robin looking ready to pounce on the redhead, regardless of injury.

"He's injured and Batman took his utility belt," Superboy provided the confused looking girl.

She gasped and put a hand over her mouth, "That's true!"

"Dejavu much?" Robin muttered darkly.

All of the other young heroes ignored him, instead crowding together around the annoyed boy as they made detailed protection plans.

"Obviously, Supey and I will take guard duty in the bathrooms and stuff like that."

"You are _not_ watching me in the bathroom, perv."

"Oh! I can do bedtime. If I turn invisible, he won't even know I'm there and it won't be as creepy."

"Firstly, I will know you're there since _you just told me_ and, secondly, you are not watching me sleep!"

"And we could totally use Superboy as a shield if needed!"

"I'm not a piece of _equipment_."

"My bad, Supey. No offense meant. It's just, you know, you're kind of indestructible and Rob's kinda...not."

"I'm also 'kinda not' amused, KF."

"Why don't you just pick him up and run him to safety, Wally?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, Miss M. I was kinda thinking-"

"Ok, that's it!" Robin shot to his feet with a dark glare, "Do you guys really think I'm that unresourceful? Batman's apprentice? _Seriously_? How the hell do you think I took apart Stitchy!"

There was dead silence for a moment before M'gann asked innocently, "How did you take apart Stitchy, Robin?"

The boy flushed and grumbled out, "That's none of your business."

The door opened suddenly and every seemed to jump, as if caught doing something naughty.

There stood Batman, who took a moment to grace them all with an individual glare, before motioning for Robin to follow him. As the others moved to come with, he shook his head.

"Just Robin."

Walking out with the small hero, Bruce easily caught sight of the embarrassed look that sparked to life on his face before he hung his head and hid it behind his bangs.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, the boy suddenly spoke up, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have slipped up and pointed towards something my enemy hadn't noticed before. Well, they're not really my enemies, but, you know," he shrugged as a finish.

Bruce didn't reply, instead wondering if the other realized he was speaking to the wrong Batman or if he felt he needed to explain himself regardless.

After a few more minutes of silence, with them almost to their destination by then, Bruce finally replied with, "Your medication has been known to loosen the tongue."

A ghost of smile appeared on Robin's face, "_Of course_. Nice one."

Bruce allowed a slight smirk at the compliment, even though he wasn't entirely certain it was yet earned. The boy still hadn't said anything pertinent, regardless of the wicked concoction he was on. Instead, Bruce felt the other world's Batman was to gain a few points in the "game," seeing as he'd clearly had the foresight to build up the boy's immunity to truth serums.

Which wasn't any less than what he would have done.

It also wasn't any less than what Darkseid or Luthor might do.

Bruce was still keeping a close eye on the boy.

Reaching their destination, Bruce punched in his code and then allowed the Watchtower to scan him before the door opened with a hiss.

"High-tech security for such an empty room," Robin commented, peeking into the space before stepping over the threshold. The boy's eyes quickly took in every little object before shifting back to the Dark Knight.

Quick and thorough assessment of his surroundings. Good training.

But he'd missed the pen on the far table and the book peeking out behind the box of folders on the floor.

Bruce was yet to be impressed by his detective skills.

"It's not empty anymore," Bruce responded simply, giving no indication as to his thoughts. He noted that the other Batman's "partner" caught his meaning almost instantly, a pout coming to his face.

Robin all but begged, "Can I at least read your books?"

"Absolutely not. Go to sleep."

Bruce shut the door in the other's face before he could respond. He had no doubt that he'd return to find that the little hacker had scoured every corner of the room and had tried to open the door at least once. If only to see if he could, in case of a later emergency.

At least, Bruce was fairly certain that was something _he'd_ teach his apprentice, if he ever had the sudden urge to raise an unruly child as the next terror of the night.

The thought didn't bother him. He'd specifically picked his own room, as much privacy as he liked to maintain, because he was rarely in it and thus felt no need to "personalize his space," as Clark was always urging him to do.

Which was a ridiculous idea, to begin with.

The Watchtower, to date, had been completely destroyed all of three times.

Hardly what Bruce would consider a home away from home.

Honestly, the Kryptonian was far too sentimental sometimes.

That reminded him, he had to contact Alfred and demand the man refuse Kent's cookie requests when he called later on.

**AN: **OMG, I think I _hate_ this chapter! Argh! Half the time I feel as if it's fairly in character, but not flowing smoothly and the other half, I'm almost positive it's bordering on OOC, even if my writing juices are mimicking the Nile. Argh! _

Any help towards making it sound better would be much appreciated. Or, I guess, if you really like it, even though I just _don't_, you could tell me so. ^_^

**Second AN to Aqualad Fans: **OMG! JL canon ruins lives! Or, at least, my fic. T-T Seriously, I was just at the part with Aqualad when I watched the new YJ ep & was all like, "WTF?" & had to rewrite it to match. Hopefully my "explanation" makes sense, since it appears (to me, at least) that JL cartoon sort of combines Orin & Arthur's history (ok, mainly just Arthur's name) into one, giving Arthur Orin's bro & woman, etc. but without the Orin name. I think they just did it to mess me up. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **We Meet Again  
**Author: **Takebuo Ishimatsu  
**Pairing(s): **None?  
**Summary: **Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast.

**Disclaimer: **Ido not own Young Justice.

**AN: **_I apologize in advance for the massive amounts of Bruce+Clark, with very little YJ or anyone else. (My inner Bat/Sup attacked while I was typing. -_-0) Next chapter should fix this._

_**P.S. This first section with YJ/JL is happening *during* the last scene of Chapter 4.**_**  
**

Meanwhile...

Superboy jumped up just as the door closed behind the two Bats. Diana and J'onn quickly moved to block the clone, both hoping that they wouldn't have to resort to violence. So far, the boy had proven rather volatile and the last thing they needed was an all-out brawl on their hands.

Superboy glared at the two heroes in front of him, "Where's he taking him?"

Flash held up his hands in what he hoped was a calming manner, "Relax, kid. He's probably just checking him back into medical. No matter how your buddy may look on Batman's narcotics, I assure you, he's not yet well enough to be wandering around for hours at a time."

Superboy looked uncertain at that before glancing away from the adults. "We should stick together, just in case we teleport," he murmured.

"True, but remember what your friend Robin said, even if you do get taken to another universe, the Watchtower's not big enough for you to not be able to find him again," Diana said.

"Indeed. I'm certain your Kid Flash could pinpoint his location in seconds, in the unlikely event that you weren't able to hear him yourself," J'onn responded logically.

"You do have super-hearing, right kid?" GL asked.

"_That_ I have," Superboy snapped, before stomping over to the other side of the room to sulk.

GL gave his fellow heroes a confused look, "What'd I say?"

They shrugged in response while Wally gave his Martian friend a head-shake when she opened her mouth to explain.

"So..." Flash started, only to stop at the loud rumbling noise in the awkward silence the clone had created. He raised an eyebrow behind his cowl, more out of habit than the thought that the kid would actually see it.

Wally flushed, "I haven't eaten in like four hours." He added in a whisper, "Uncle B, I think I'm dying."

Flash chuckled at the dramatics, "You probably are, little speedster. Why didn't you say something?"

Wally shrugged, keeping his eyes down. A slight blush was starting to creep on to his face.

Barry gave the boy a gentle smile. Remembering when he was that age, surrounded by new people and wanting to look cool and _tough_. He briefly contemplated having a talk with the kid to reinforce the importance of keeping up his fuel, before pushing the boy's omittance aside as wanting to make a good impression. They were the Justice League, after all.

(And, really, it wasn't as if he wasn't going to be with the kid 24/7, trying to learn everything possible before he disappeared randomly again. He'd notice if Wally continued to not eat properly.)

"Hey, you've got a cabinet in that suit of yours, right?"

Wally popped it open, "I've run dry." He looked rather miserable at the declaration.

"Well then, we better get something in that stomach of yours before you disappear!"

Wally gave him a wide-eyed look and Barry made a mental note to explain to the boy that he wouldn't _actually_ disappear if he didn't eat. He'd probably just pass out after about half a day and require an IV to stabilize him.

Flash disappeared and then reappeared a second later with a notepad.

"Ok, taking orders. What does everyone want?"

"What does this place have?" Wally asked.

"Oh, a little bit of everything. We have lots of different cultures we have to represent up here."

Wally scrunched his brow and made a big show of thinking about it before asking, "Do you have cheeseburgers?"

"You betcha, kid."

"Sweet! I'll have sixteen of them. And three cokes, if you guys have that. Please and thank you."

Flash gave a little "Mmmhmm" noise as he wrote that down, not looking the least bit bothered by the numbers.

GL, however, was somewhere between being amused at the likeness of the two and horrified that the Watchtower now had another person who could eat the entire buffet in one sitting. There was a _reason_ they made Flash go last at lunch time.

"I'll have a cheeseburger too, please. And a tea. Thank you."

Flash nodded before looking towards the clone. The boy gave him an uncertain look, as if he wasn't entirely comfortable with someone else getting food for him. Barry resisted the urge to smile. The young hero was _clearly_ Mr. Polite Farm Boy's.

"I'm fine," he grumbled, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Right, one All-American coming right up," Barry said before he took off.

Superboy whipped around, a scowl firmly in place, "I didn't-"

"Don't bother, he's already gone," Hawkgirl interrupted.

The boy let out an annoyed sigh.

Why was everyone in this universe acting so...weird towards him?

He wished Black Canary was there.

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

Bruce walked back into the Monitor Room just as Clark was flicking off one of the screens, the Boy Scout turning to give the Dark Knight an innocent smile.

So, it appeared the other had managed to beat him in regards to contacting Alfred.

No matter, Bruce would just shift into Plan B: calling Lois and asking her to drive the two over to the manor next week. That was sure to shake up the Boy Scout far more than Alfred's cookies were known to put the billionaire in a better mood. Thus putting the future meeting back under Bruce's control.

Advantage: Bruce.

"I'm glad you're already here, Superman. We need to discuss what you're going to tell the rest of the League," Bruce said, sliding past the other to sit in one of the chairs.

Typing on the keyboard, he silently pulled up the file he'd recently made.

Moving his hand from left to right, he indicated the various lists on the screen, he said, "I've ordered our members in ascending order of possible aggression regarding the news."

Glancing at Clark when the other didn't respond right away, Bruce glared at the other man's amused look. The one that told him the other hero was silently making fun of his "Batman thing," as the Man of Steel liked to call it.

Bruce supposed it was fair, though he'd never admit it out loud. Every member of the League had at least once taken a jibe at Clark's "Superman thing," i.e., rescuing kittens from trees, telling everyone that his _mother_ had made his costume, and those sort of ridiculous occurrences. (With many more added in for those heroes that knew the kind of stunts he pulled as Clark Kent.)

"Is there something you'd like to say?" Bruce growled at the other as he observed the Dark Knight's work.

"Just...when'd you have time to do this, Bruce?"

Bruce gave him a Look, "I've been working on this in my head since I was out-voted. All I had to do was type it up."

"Ah," Clark nodded, "You do type fast."

"I do," Bruce agreed blandly at the useless statement.

Clark was always one for small talk.

"I take it, you've got the samples set up for testing?"

Bruce gave him another Look.

"Right, of course you do," he gave Bruce a fond look before continuing, "So, why all the detail? I thought we'd just announce it and have that be that, whether they like it or not. Actually," Clark paused to give him a thoughtful look, "that seems far more your style. This," he made a motion towards the screen, "seems more like something _I_ would do."

Bruce resisted the urge to roll his eyes, if only because Batman didn't do those sort of things, "This isn't to spare anyone's feelings. It's to ensure a general cooperation and to, hopefully, prevent an outbreak of violence. If these children are threats, the last thing we need is a League divided."

Clark gave him a knowing look, before muttering a single, "'If'?"

Bruce gave him a dark, _dark_ Batglare, "I'm a detective, Kent. My theory changes with each new clue. It's something you might look into, being an investigative journalist."

Clark's amused look didn't go away as he responded, "And what exactly have these kids done to prove Batman's paranoia wrong?"

Bruce snorted, "Nothing. I've merely concluded, based upon their showing of individual skill, mentality and general teamwork, that, if they attack again, there is very little chance they will succeed."

"Ah," was all Clark responded with.

Bruce chose to ignore his smug undertone, knowing he'd get his revenge later, with the help of Lois the Demon Driver.

"As you can see, I've listed Orion as one as one of the possible volatiles, as well as The Question."

"Of course," Clark nodded, "Orion will see it as an insult to have children in his work space and Question, well..."

Clark shrugged as a finish, the two heroes sharing a knowing look.

Bruce figured they wouldn't be able to count on the other's presence in the Watchtower until the teens had left. At least, not after he was done bugging them and going through the children's stuff.

Bruce would have to make sure to keep a tight vigil on his quarters to insure no unwanted visitors got access and put devices in there that didn't belong.

He was hardly about to let go of his "paranoia" (he preferred to think of it as cautiousness) in order to appease another's (now Question's..._that_ was paranoia).

"In general, I doubt many of them will be pleased with the arrangement, but I feel we can limit the damage to others' trust by enforcing a strict perimeter for the children and only allowing them outside of it with chaperones."

Clark nodded. Though he longed to give the kids a break after what they'd been through, he wasn't willing to jeopardize the group and make his fellow heroes feel uneasy in their own base. He could already imagine the shock that some of them were going to have, finding out strangers were in their private space.

After all, they didn't even let new heroes into the Watchtower until they'd known them (or their deeds) for a year or more.

"I assume you already have this 'perimeter' all picked out?" Clark asked, though he already knew the answer.

Bruce typed a few commands into the computer and a 3D display of the Watchtower appeared, with four rooms highlighted in the far west quarter.

"I thought we might take the opportunity to get my money's worth out of the new section," Bruce answered, causing Clark to smile at the barely-there joke.

Clearly, Bruce wasn't quite as ticked off about the intruders as he wanted to appear if he'd allow the Man of Steel a tiny bit of his Bathumor, rarer than the finest jewels.

"Hey now, I pitched in a little," Clark joked back.

Bruce Looked at him, to which he shrugged, "I bought the donuts."

Bruce snorted and muttered something about "reporter's salary."

With anyone else (who didn't own half of the United States), Clark might have felt insulted by the tone.

As it was, he chose to ignore the other, since he _knew_ Bruce liked it when he brought him food (not to mention Alfred's approval) and instead pointed to the diagram.

"You only have four rooms?"

Bruce stilled for the briefest of moments and that was all it took to engage Clark's smirk.

"You want the youngest to stay in your quarters." It wasn't a question.

Ever _Batman_, Bruce explained plainly, "The only room more technologically guarded than my own is Question's. It's only logical to keep him there until we know more about their intentions."

" And it just happens to be a short trip away from medical, as well as right across from my quarters, which I assume we'll be sharing until they're approved?" Clark tried to keep the smugness out of his voice, really, he did, but...

Bruce gave him his best "I hate your existence and hope you get hit by a bus full of Kryptonite on your way to work tomorrow" glare.

...Sometimes it was just _worth it_ to be on the giving end of the smirk, rather than the receiving.

"Actually, I've already adjusted the bedroom arrangements," Bruce replied in his best "I'm the Goddamn Batman" voice, pointing out the changes on the diagram.

Clark's eyes widened, "You stole my room!"

"Technically, it's my room. I paid for it."

Clark crossed his arms in perfect, "Annoyed Superman" pose, before raising an eyebrow.

Of course, as poses and eyebrows went, his didn't have much on Batman's, so Clark ended up switching to Plan B.

Pouting.

A moment of stone from Bruce.

...And then crumbling.

"You might be able share it with me," Bruce grumbled, refusing to look at him as he turned back to his computer.

"Why, that's rather kind of you, Bruce," Clark said, giving him his best polite smile.

"We should also be upfront about their abilities and the possible threat they pose," Bruce said, once again all business. Clark moved to dispute the statement, not liking the idea of putting a bad rap on the kids before anyone even met them, but Bruce continued quickly, "Not everyone likes their facts sugar-coated, Kent."

_Kent_. Right. Bruce was distancing himself from him after his defeat.

Nothing new there.

Clark sighed and crossed his arms, "Fine, but you can handle that part of the announcement. And, if you get to expound on how evil they all are, then I get to tell everyone how I feel about them."

"That's acceptable."

Truthfully, Bruce wasn't impressed with the outcome of their conversation. (For more reasons than the obvious.) He already knew what was going to happen when they told the others. Half the heroes, those of _logic_, would follow him, and the other half, those of _feeling_, would follow the Boy Scout.

And thus the notorious Superman/Batman showdown would continue into its next round, with the most likely outcome being that of Clark winning the battle when the adults caught sight of the "adorable" little heroes, thus shifting their minds from logic to feeling.

Advantage: Clark.

He'd have to call Lois _and_ Clark's mother, just in case. He was hardly one for small talk, but if telling Martha Kent a little about his week was enough to insure the minor defeat didn't cost him his edge for the upcoming interview-slash-social gathering (as Clark was sure to turn it into), he was willing to sacrifice some of his time.

If nothing else, it would be worth the look on Clark's face when he said, "So, I spoke to your mother today..." just when the Boy Scout was about to try and push him into answering a question Bruce Wayne, billionaire _vigilante_, didn't want answered. Most likely something about the boy currently sleeping in his Watchtower room.

Advantage: Bruce.

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

"...and that is really all there is to the story, my King," Kaldur finished, feeling a little winded after the intense interrogation.

"Please, call me Arthur. I think, after learning that you saved my life and that of your fellow Atlantians, you deserve the honor of using my given name."

Kaldur gave him a knowing smile before shaking his head, "Forgive me, my King, but your other-world counterpart has been urging me to do the same for years."

"Ah," King Arthur said, giving him an approving look, "So, you're saying, it's not going to happen."

Kaldur look down in apology, "Forgive me. I do not mean to be arrogant."

The king shook his head fondly, amused by the boy's polite stubbornness, "No, it's all right. I will not force you to use a name that makes you uncomfortable."

"Thank you, my King."

"So then, how did you come to be the leader of this group of yours? I would have thought Batman's protege would have taken that spot, or perhaps Superman's."

"I'm afraid Superboy is far too young to even contemplate such an action. However, Robin will be taking the lead when he gains maturity and teamwork experience."

"You mean he's not already a mini-Batman, perfect down to the last hair on his head?" the King snorted, "Your detective must be lacking."

Kaldur's smile had only the barest hint of exasperation. This was hardly the first time he'd had to explain the leadership reasoning to others, and he doubted it would be the last. (Robin had snickered at him last time he'd asked the younger boy if he'd wanted to do the talking, pointing out that explaining things was the leader's job, so Kaldur doubted the other was going to be taking over in that department any time soon.)

"Despite his mentor, and his many years of experience as a hero, Robin is still very much a child, making him a poor choice to maintain efficient work relations with heroes and civilians alike. He also hasn't quite gotten the feel of a team, rather than a partnership, down."

"I think this is something I'm going to have to see to believe. Batman and a kid," the King shook his head in disbelief, "Now Superman, that makes more sense. Even if the boy is a clone. Though we're not exactly close, I can tell the man wants a family. He must be enjoying having a son."

Kaldur looked away, not wishing to lie to his King, but not wanting to give away the truth of Superboy's home-life. Or, rather, base-life, considering he didn't quite have a home yet.

After a moment's pause, he settled for a diplomatic side-step, "I'm certain Superman enjoys having others around."

Aquaman snorted, "You can say that again. The only person more people-friendly than that guy is Flash."

Kaldur nodded, just as he was suddenly pulled to his feet.

"My King?"

"Come. Show me what you can do, in case I have need of your skills."

Kaldur's eyes widened, "My King, I am honored that you trust me so readily, but are you certain that is wise? What of Batman?"

The other gave him a Look, "_What_ _of_ Batman? Though he may be a trusted ally, _I _am born ruler of Atlantis. He has no authority over me or mine."

Kaldur made a mental note that this king was far more proud than his own, and, apparently, thought less of land-dwellers than King Orin did. He'd have to keep that in mind for future conversations.

He decided against pointing out that Batman was, well, _Batman_, and instead said, "I meant no disrespect, King Arthur. It's just...Batman is our group leader back home."

Aquaman's bristle softened at his explanation, "Ah. You show respect for your commander. An admirable trait, but not when with the highest in the chain. Come."

Kaldur resisted the urge to sigh, "Yes, my King."

BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY BREAKY

Clark paused on his way back to the young heroes, frowning as he focused in on the sound of fighting nearby.

And then of laughing. Aquaman.

Raising an eyebrow, he shifted his gaze to the nearby gym. Peering through with his X-Ray vision, he wasn't surprised to see the king picking up his other-world apprentice off of the floor. Both of them were soaking wet but didn't appear to be injured so Clark took it as a sign that the two were getting along rather well.

Tapping his ear, he started, "Bruce-"

"I know. And, yes, you can."

Clark rolled his eyes, "You don't even know what I was going to say."

Clark could almost _feel_ the unspoken, "Don't I?" before Bruce responded.

"You were going to tell me that Aquaman has taken it upon himself to let Kaldur out of confinement in order to test his physical abilities. And then you were going to ask me if you could do something similar with Superboy."

Well, he didn't have to sound so _smug_ about it. Clark had only been about to ask his "permission" out of respect for the other, knowing it was chafing his old friend to be so thoroughly out-voted in regards to the children. So much for wanting to ease the control-freak's pain, huh?

Clark shook his head at his own thoughts, his annoyance giving way to fond exasperation.

Give Bruce an inch and you'd find yourself a mile behind a minute later.

"I'm actually thinking of bringing Superboy something to eat. Did you want anything from Earth?"

"Flash just took them all a meal."

Nothing said in regards to his second question, so Clark took it as a "no."

"That's fine. There's always room for pie."

There was no reply from Bruce, not that he'd really been expecting any (Clark imagined he was probably all conversationed-out after their recent talk). Mentally shrugging at the lack of response, he made his way over to the transporter.

Typing a few commands, he was suddenly standing outside of his _true_ home. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, enjoying his first whiff of clean air in over a week.

" You planning on coming in any time, or do you want me to throw your piece to you?" his father yelled through the kitchen window.

Clark smiled and sped up into the house, appearing in the kitchen with a, "No need for that," as a response.

It was a sign of how use to their "unique" son they were that neither even blinked at his sudden arrival. Ah, one of the reasons he loved visiting his parents.

"Clark, dear, you're looking thin. Here, take this and make yourself a seat at the table," his mother said, patting him on the cheek as she pushed a plate full of apple pie into his hands.

Clark resisted the urge to sigh and instead shared a knowing look with his father behind the woman's back. He almost wished Bruce had come with him, if only to have his mother's attention shifted to another for a few hours. Clark smiled at the thought.

Seeing Bruce squirm under a "mother's loving touch" was almost worth the nerve-wracking that came from what he worried the other might say to the woman. (Bruce was _not_ above telling his parents horrible secrets, or outright dirty _lies, _about him to get revenge for previous wrong-doings on Clark's part.)

" Actually, Ma, I hate to be rude, but could I maybe have this to go?" Clark asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck in shame. He _hated_ taking advantage of his parents.

" Of course, dear. Is there a problem?" she asked, looking him over as if she'd be able to see everything wrong with his life in once glance. Then again, she was his Mother. Maybe she _did_ see things that weren't visible to others. It wouldn't be the first time.

"No, well...no," he answered, blushing a little.

His father raised an eyebrow, "Something on your mind, Clark?"

"I'd actually like to share a piece with someone else," Clark said, shifting around the subject of his clone, not quite certain how to explain the boy.

"Ah," his mother gave him a knowing look, "Better take an extra large piece then. That boy is far too thin in my opinion. Poor Alfred must have a heck of time getting him to eat properly."

Clark chuckled, "No, it's not for Bruce."

"Problems with Lois again?" his father asked, glancing up from the paper he'd grabbed.

Clark sighed, "No, Lois is great. As usual."

Clark knew they loved the woman, but, frankly, he got the impression sometimes that his parents believed she abused him or something. Really, she'd only stolen his story that _one_ time. And she'd only made him pretend to be her boyfriend those _two_ times for a scoop. And she _rarely_ used him as a pawn to get Bruce to agree to interviews.

...Ok, she probably _did_ abuse him, in a certain light, but that was just Lois for you.

"Who's it for, Clark?" his mother asked.

Clark blushed, looking around the room uncertainly, not quite wanting to see his parents' reaction.

"I sort of...have a clone?" They stared at him. "From a different universe?"

It was a testament to them being the Parents of Superman that his mother just cut off a little bit more pie and his father asked when he was planning on introducing them to their grandchild.

**AN: **Ok! The stage is set for the Clark+Superboy you guys have been asking for! And some more Bat+Robin interaction as well! (I'll try to work in some of the others too, of course.)

**A note to Flash Fans: **Does anyone have any idea how long a speedster can actually go without food? I'm guessing it has to be more than 15 minutes (despite what Wally might have us believe in the show) since they've gone to battle for far longer than that, without stopping to munch. (At least, _I_ didn't see any munching...)

**A thanks to Aquaman Fans/General Aquaman note:** Ok, so to top off my DC confusion, apparently there's King Arthur, who used to be Arthur Curry AND King Arthur, who is actually King Orin with a human name. (Why do you do this to me DC? WHY?) Soooooo, in this fic, I'm just going to keep going with the idea that I presented in Chapter 4 since it's already written into the story. (But I'll definitely remember it for future fics! Thanks!)

**P.S. (OMG, why are there so many ANs?) I have an offer up in Help_Japan & FandomAid. Links in my profile.**


End file.
